‘We’re planning an event to honour Sarah’
As Girls Aloud turns 20, Nadine Coyle talks about losing her friend and how the band will reunite to remember her
I‘Maybe it’s time to engage with the world of music again’
t’s hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since Girls Aloud formed on Popstars: The Rivals. And while the band haven’t performed since their 2013 split, Nadine Coyle says that’s all about to change.
When we catch up with the Irish star, she reveals that the girls plan to celebrate this year’s anniversary in memory of their late friend and bandmate, Sarah Harding.
“We’re planning a night for an event to raise money in honour of Sarah,”says Nadine, 36.“She’s very much in the forefront of our minds. We want to raise money for a piece of medical equipment that helps diagnose cancer earlier so people can be treated. We definitely want to do something to help others.”
Sarah was 39 when she passed away in September last year after a battle with breast cancer, just over a year after she revealed she had been diagnosed with the disease. The devastating loss continues to have a huge impact on them all.
“When she became unwell, a lot of my energy became focused on her,”Nadine says.“Suddenly, there were so many things happening that were more important than anything else. It was a time to be around loved ones and support them. Her passing has just been so devastating.”
Speaking on behalf of her former bandmates – Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh – Nadine adds,“[Sarah’s passing] still affects us deeply, to think about everything that she went through.”
She says they’re also hoping to reunite away from the stage, now the majority of them are mums. “Obviously, Cheryl has Bear and Kimberley has got her three little ones – Bobby, Cole and Nate – and we were planning on getting all of the babies together a while back but never got round to it,” she says.
Nadine, who is mum to eightyear-old daughter Anaiya, hopes their children will one day become as close as they were.
“Although Anaiya is the oldest and she’s definitely outnumbered with the boy-to-girl ratio, I’m sure one day we’ll get them all together, it’ll be great!” she says.
Nadine shares Anaiya with her ex-fiancé, former American footballer Jason Bell. The pair split in 2019 after 11 years together.
Speaking adoringly about her “pea-in-a-pod” daughter, Nadine laughs at the idea of Anaiya knowing that she had a famous pop star for a mother.
“She definitely knows that I’m different from the other mums!” she says.“When she was younger, she thought all of her friends’ mums were famous and all of them were stopped on the street for a photo!
“It was only when she got older that she started asking, ‘Mummy, what exactly is it that you do?’ After that, I took her to a festival I was playing at and I brought her up on the stage – she probably realised then.”
Could little Anaiya follow in her mum’s musical footsteps?
“She loves dancing and singing!” says Nadine.“She’s also obsessed with TV shows like Dancing On Ice and Strictly Come Dancing, so I know when she’s older she’d love to give them a go. But then, Anaiya changes her mind every day. She wanted to be an activist last week and change the world.”
Opening up about her favourite way to spend mother-and-daughter time, Nadine tells us,“Santa Claus brought me a light-up jukebox when I was a child and I grew up putting CDs on it and dancing around to the songs that played. It still works! A lot of evenings, Anaiya and I light some candles, put the jukebox on and make our own disco. She loves it!”
Before having her daughter, Nadine had been performing internationally with the Lord Of The Dance: Dangerous Games tour as the goddess Erin. Reminiscing about her time on the theatre stage, she says,“I adored that job.The team went travelling all over the world for it, but then I got pregnant so I stopped.
“A few years ago, I was offered the part of Roxy in
Chicago but I had too much on at the time, so I had to turn it down. I’ve always regretted that, so if the opportunity came around again, I’d take it.”
We’ve got to know Nadine on a more individual basis in the past few years. She quickly became a fan favourite on I’m A Celebrity in 2019, finishing in fifth place.
Two years later, she took part in
The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer, moving viewers to tears with a tribute cake for Sarah. And while she doesn’t want to give too much away, Nadine lets us in on some TV plans
she’s working on.“I’m considering a project,”she reveals.“I don’t think I can say anything just yet but it’ll definitely be on the more serious side of television. I’ve loved being involved in fun shows, which gives viewers a chance to see my bubbly personality, but I’m passionate about this next project.”
In terms of her music career, it’s been almost two years since she released her last single, All That I Know. But after the pandemic and the loss of Sarah, Nadine has decided to take a bit of a hiatus from this area. Reflecting on her unexpected step back from the industry, she says it “hadn’t felt right”to promote any new material at such a turbulent time. “As soon as I’d released my last single in 2020, the world shut down,”she tells us.“The world went quiet so it didn’t feel appropriate to bring out anything new while people were struggling and trying to survive.”
But with the stage doors seemingly remaining open for the foreseeable future, Nadine – who is set to headline Southport’s Kiki Weekender festival at the end of this month – tells us she’s excited to get behind the microphone again.“I’m raring to go!”she says.
to a real audience again is brilliant. It almost doesn’t feel real, getting back into it after the shows sadly came to a halt. Every day now, I think how lucky I am to be back in this job. Sometimes I can’t believe it – my job is to show people a good time! This year is the first time in a while where I’ve thought, maybe it is time to engage with the world of music again.”
As well as rehearsing for her long-anticipated return to the stage, Nadine has spent the past few months diving head-first into another area of interest – skincare.
Having recently been announced as the ambassador for Barcelona brand Skin Generics, she explains how she came to be invested in the world of health and beauty.
“I’m always keen to try out new things, especially when it comes to my skin, but I have to be careful,” she says.“I can’t smother something on my face willy-nilly, so I wanted to know everything I could about the products beforehand.
“The team taught me everything and I just fell in love with the range straight away. Each product is amazing – they’ve all got these active ingredients. At first I was like, ‘What on earth is an active ingredient?’ but now I know that it’s where a product actually targets the areas that you need. That was important to me and I’ve been sold ever since.”
She also reveals what her recent lifestyle collaboration has taught her about her own skin.
“I have both sensitive and dry skin, and the company has taught me that for this, I need a particular routine to treat both,” says Nadine.
“I was using a lot of oily products before because I thought it was the best fit for my skin. I’m also not really a huge fan of make-up, which might surprise people, so most days I just want to wash, moisturise and go! With Skin Generics, I’m finally able to do that and know my skin is taken care of.”
Nadine is an ambassador for Skin Generics – premium cosmeceuticals with a high percentage of active ingredients